The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just approved a new sunscreen ingredient.
And it’s big news because this hasn’t happened in a long time—something new in sunscreen!
You may be wondering: Is this something I should be using now? Is it better than what I had before?
Here at CV Skinlabs, we’re happy as long as you’re using sunscreen to protect your skin. We’ve always recommended zinc oxide and titanium dioxide as the safest options, as these are so-called “physical sunscreens” that sit on top of the skin and protect it without absorbing too deeply.
Some of our customers, though, have noted that these sunscreens can be a little chalky or leave a white film on the skin. They may even cause irritation for those with sensitive skin. Formulas are better today than they’ve ever been, but still, we all want to look our best even as we’re protecting our skin, right?
Now we may have a new alternative. It’s all the buzz in the beauty world, so we want to be sure you have the whole scoop before you make any decisions.
What Is This New Sunscreen Ingredient?
The new sunscreen is called bemotrizinol. You may also see it listed as BEMT, Tinosorb S, PARSOL Shield, or the longer chemical name, Bis-Ethylhexyloxylphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine.
How’s that for a mouthful?
So outside of the science lab, what is this?
Bemotrizinol is a new type of chemical sunscreen. That means it absorbs UV rays and helps turn their energy into heat, which is then released from the skin.
Typically, we recommend physical or so-called mineral sunscreens (like zinc oxide) over chemical sunscreens because they sit on top of the skin and help block, scatter, and protect from UV rays without sinking into the skin. Chemical sunscreens have been more linked to issues like hormone disruption and free-radical production, so we’ve usually suggested you stay away from them.
But bemotrizinol is a little different from most chemical sunscreens. Mainly, it’s considered more “stable” than ingredients like avobenzone.
On top of that, it provides protection against both UVA and UVB rays, which means it offers broad-spectrum protection, which most other chemical sunscreens don’t do as well. (Which is why chemical sunscreens are often combined to achieve broad-spectrum shielding.)
How Safe is This New Sunscreen Ingredient?
Bemotrizinol has been used in Europe for decades, and the research on it has been encouraging.
Photostable
The FDA’s clinical overview describes it as “photostable,” which means it doesn’t break down easily in sunlight.
Sunscreens are constantly being hit by UV rays. Some of our well-known chemical sunscreens do their job for a while, but then can become weakened by sunlight. Once they degrade, they don’t protect as well.
Avobenzone is a good example of this. It protects against UVA rays, but it can break down in sunlight unless the formula includes stabilizers.
Bemotrizinol is considered highly photostable and doesn’t need stabilizers. In fact, it can help stabilize other sunscreen ingredients in a formula.
Better yet, unlike older non-mineral sunscreens, bemotrizinol can be combined with zinc oxide to provide strong broad-spectrum protection with less white cast.
Low Absorption
The other good news is that bemotrizinol has a high molecular weight, which helps reduce its ability to penetrate into the skin.
The FDA describes it as having “low levels of absorption through the skin into the body,” which is good news for clean beauty lovers. In the clinical overview, researchers reported that the absorbed dose was found to be below two percent of the applied dose.
Even when people used a lot of bemotrizinol multiple times a day, very little got into the bloodstream. Most of it appeared to stay on or near the skin.
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), the FDA confirms that at concentrations up to 6 percent, bemotrizinol is minimally absorbed through the skin, with average absorption levels below the concentration the FDA considers indicative of systemic exposure.
Compare that to oxybenzone, another chemical sunscreen that was detected in the blood at 515 times the FDA’s threshold of concern after a single weekend of application.
No Irritation
For those with sensitive skin, this may also be a sunscreen ingredient to try. Skin irritation tests found that bemotrizinol was not irritating at the permitted concentrations.
Long Safety Track Use
Bemotrizinol has been widely used in European and Asian sunscreens for decades. The U.S. has stricter testing policies in place for sunscreens than other countries, which is why it’s taken longer for this ingredient to reach our shores.
Those long years of use overseas, however, mean that bemotrizinol has more safety data to back it up than other chemical sunscreens currently approved in the U.S.
This New Sunscreen Ingredient May Simply Look Better
If you’re a clean beauty lover, you’ve probably been choosing zinc oxide and titanium dioxide most of the time. But you may not appreciate the white cast that zinc oxide can leave behind.
New formulas containing bemotrizinol will be transparent on the skin while offering broad-spectrum protection from both UVA and UVB rays. That should mean more pleasing, less greasy sunscreen formulations in the near future.
When Will This New Sunscreen Ingredient Be Available?
Products with bemotrizinol aren’t widely available yet, as it was just recently approved in June 2026. The EWG says when they do arrive, they will update their “Guide to Sunscreens” with those products to help you choose safe options.
At that time, you’ll want to look for “bemotrizinol” or “BEMT” in the active ingredients list or the trade name Parsol Shield on product packaging. It may also be listed by its other long chemical name mentioned previously.
In the meantime, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide remain your safest options.
What To Do with This Information Now
Here’s how you can use this news to start taking better care of your skin today.
1. Take a fresh look at your current sunscreen.
Check the label. If it relies heavily on avobenzone with no stabilizer listed, your protection may be breaking down faster than you think. Choose a zinc-oxide-based mineral option instead.
2. Make sunscreen the first step in protecting your skin.
Even the best sunscreen can leave your skin feeling a little dried out or stressed by the end of the day. Sensitive skin types may experience skin reactions, irritation, dermatitis, redness, and itching. Reach for our Rescue + Relief Spray for instant cooling relief after cleansing, then apply our Calming Moisture for recovery.
3. Protect your barrier.
Using our Body Repair Lotion in the evenings gives your skin the calming, restorative ingredients it needs to recover from daily sun exposure. Think of it as your sunscreen’s teammate.
4. Don’t skip sunscreen on cloudy days.
UVA rays—the ones that bemotrizinol is particularly good at blocking—don’t require sunny days. They come through the clouds and right through car windows. Daily protection matters!
5. When bemotrizinol products arrive, read the labels carefully.
Look for “broad-spectrum” and SPF 30 or higher. The fact that bemotrizinol is a safe sunscreen doesn’t automatically make a product “clean” in the way we define it. Check the full ingredient list and look for products that use this new ingredient in thoughtful, non-irritating formulations.
6. Use what works for your skin.
By the way, if your current mineral sunscreen is working for you, feel free to keep using it. If your skin does well with zinc oxide, there’s no need to change to something new. But if you have wished for an alternative, we wanted to let you know what this new ingredient was all about.
Featured image by Mikhail Nilov via Pexels.
